1. Austin A40 "woodie"
Peter sent me the "woodie" photographs shown here. They show a cracking Austin A40 station wagon that belonged to his parents in the 1950s. Sadly the car ended up being written off after a collision with a lorry, so CMS 277 is no longer around sadly. It looks to be based on a commercial rather than saloon chassis, if the larger 17 inch wheels and front wings with larger openings are anything to go by. Saloons would also have chrome strips on the doors, whereas vans and pickups didn't. Whoever built the coachwork on this A40 chassis did a wonderful job, the swooping line of the roof and the woodwork really looks great. Note the split rear tailgate, perfect for an impromptu picnic or cup of tea.
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2. A Devon saloon car
Nigel emailed this old photo over, it shows a standard four-door A40 Devon saloon that once belonged to his family. The Austins shown in the first three photos on this page do not have separate front opening quarterlights, whereas my '49 saloon and later pickups all do, typical of the detail alterations that BMC tended to make to their cars during a production run.
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The Devon was a 4dr saloon first introduced in 1947, and was a clean sheet of paper for Austin, who after the war were still producing models largely based on their pre-war offerings. Power was from a new 1200cc engine, that would later become the B series, and feature in BMC/BL cars into the 1980s in enlarged form. There was also a short-lived 2dr version, called the Dorset, which is a very rare motor nowadays. Those wanting to cut more of a dash, could opt for the convertible A40 Sports, which utilised the same basic running gear from the Devon, but with twin carbs fitted to give it a little more ooomphhh.
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The Devon would be replaced by the Somerset model in the early 1950s, utilising the Devon's chassis and engine, but clothed with a more bulbous body, very similar in style to the larger A70 Hereford.
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3. Austin A40 Devons at Longbridge.
Old Nail, a former contributor to the site forum, sent this picture over, showing a large number of Austin A40 Devons parked up.
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I'm fairly sure this photograph was taken at Longbridge, and it shows lots of A40 Devons as far as the eye can see.
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4. Irish-registered A40 Devon.
Next, a photo showing an Irish A40 Devon, looking a little tired and due for a good scrub up! The chrome looks filthy, and the numberplate has received several knocks. Perhaps the owner was a little less than careful with their dumpy little Austin, the angle he or she has parked at wouldn't win too many prizes with the old bill nowadays. The ZE registration letters show that this Austin was registered in the Dublin area. This series had a long run, from Jan 1940 right through to February 1952. Just visible in the background is a later A40 or A50 Cambridge.
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I've always liked the Devon model, introduced before Austin merged into the BMC empire. I've got a black A40 saloon, and a blue A40 pickup, which at one time shared garage space with this green pickup. More A40 information on these mid-sized Austins can be found here.
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Back to Car & Van Photographs - Page 3.
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